Poor Poor Captain Marvel. This is one character I’m beginning to empathize with because he just can’t ever seem to get a break. First the guy is too close to Superman so DC sues then buys his character. Afterward they realized they already had a Superman and kinda just let him float around for a bit in a book called ‘Shazam’ cus Marvel wouldn’t let him use the name “Captain Marvel” in a DC book. NOW, the proposed movie for the character that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson had been associated with seems to be all but cancelled because, well, DC remembered that they also have this guy called “Superman” and he’s already pretty popular.
Peter Segal speaking with ComingSoon:
“Shazam has always lived this tortured life going against Superman. This dates back to the 1930s. Because Captain Marvel had similar powers to Superman, the DC folks back then sued what was the most popular comic book on the stands at that time. Years later, they bought it and it became a DC property but, as long as Superman stays hot in the market place, there seems like a little bit of a crossover between the two characters. After Bryan Singer’s ‘Superman Returns,’ it seemed like there was a moment in time where Shazam was going to see the light of day. That’s when you heard those stories. Now that Superman is being invigorated and going up against Batman, I think it’s difficult for DC to figure out how to launch this character in the wake of Superman’s resurgence”
The director went on to explain his take on the superhero character saying,
“At its core, it’s a lot like Superman. There’s this boy trapped inside of a superhero’s body. He’s still a boy inside, so there’s this opportunity to play a lot of humor with the action. Originally, Stan Lee brought me Fantastic Four a number of years ago for that very reason. I always have the question when people bring me superhero properties, ‘Why me?’ With Stan, he said, ‘It’s because there’s a sense of humor within all Marvel characters.’ These characters are flawed and, within those flaws, there is humor. When [producer] Toby Emmerichcame to me with Shazam, it was because of those same reasons. To draw from that humor and to mix it with great action and pathos. I’ve always loved Shazam, but I don’t know if it’s going to see the light of day anytime soon.”
I personally thought that this was one franchise that didn’t need to intertwine with other DC characters like Superman and Wonder Woman and could really have stood on its own. Maybe even as a breeding ground for other character that DC is supposedbly (but probably never will) develop like Guillermo Del Toro’s “Justice League Dark”.
Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda… but won’t. That’s all for now…
Source: Geek Tyrant and Coming Soon
